Last season the United South Central girls’ basketball team was swept by Bethlehem Academy for the first time in five years.

The Rebels took revenge with a 69-43 road win Tuesday in Faribault.

USC dominated Bethlehem Academy in recent years. It won six straight games over the Cardinals from the 2008-2009 to 2010-2011 seasons and split the regular-season series in 2011-12.

This year, the Rebels jumped to a double-digit halftime advantage (30-20) with strong play in the paint.

“We’re doing a really good job in our transition game, and if our perimeter players don’t have a shot, they’re getting it inside,” said USC head coach Stu Hendrickson. “That’s been a strong part of our game in the last few weeks.”

Anissa Janzig led the Rebels with a double-double: 24 points and 11 rebounds. Shianne Robertson and Lauren Allis helped Janzig down low and combined with 24 points and 18 rebounds.

Tara Bauman led USC’s backcourt with 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Rebels (8-3 overall, 2-2 Gopher Conference) are off to their second-best start in 10 years. The only year USC posted a better record through the first 11 games was two years ago, when the Rebels started 9-2.

USC is on a five-game winning streak, dating back to a Dec. 28 loss to Jackson County Central 50-49 at the St. Clair tournament.

Bethlehem Academy (0-11 overall, 0-4 Gopher Conference), on the other hand, has been in a free fall since taking third place at the Class A girls’ basketball state tournament last year.

USC will play next at Maple River (3-9 overall, 0-4 Gopher Conference) at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: Jan. 14 post.